Over the past decade, Jane's Addiction have toured sporadically, playing old classics like "Been Caught Stealing" and "Jane Says" to an adoring fanbase. This summer, they'll finally have a new album to tour behind.

If all goes well, Hypersonic will come out by July 3, when Jane's hit the road as the headliners for the relaunch of Lollapalooza, kicking off in Michigan (see "Lollapalooza Tour Dates Announced"). The record is completed, but the band is still negotiating a label deal.

For their grand comeback, Jane's wanted to create something epic and grandiose, so they hired producer Bob Ezrin, who has worked on classic albums by Aerosmith and Pink Floyd. The recording veteran helped Jane's Addiction craft gradual dynamic builds, sweeping sonic vistas and colossal climaxes on songs like "The Price I Pay," "Just Because," "The Riches" and "To Match the Sun."

"There are things on there that we call 'moments' that will just sweep you away," frontman Perry Farrell said. "Bob lent us his magic and we're so excited, but I'm sorry, Bob — you cannot play onstage with us."

At Lollapalooza, Jane's Addiction plan to play six songs from Hypersonic, which they'll intersperse with their vintage material. Unlike many other old-school bands whose new songs cause audiences to hit the refreshment stands, their Hypersonic tracks may just be highlights of the set.

"I know six new songs is a lot, but we're really proud of them, and you have to realize that they haven't let us out of the gate for 10 years," Farrell explained. "We now have a new sound, and for a musician, it's so exciting to play [the new stuff] and nail it live as good as you can do it in the studio. And then it grows even further live."

Much of Hypersonic was written between Jane's tours (see "Jane's Addiction To Work On First New LP In A Decade"), allowing the group to workshop some of the tracks and make necessary adjustments. The process also meant the musicians were well rehearsed and comfortable playing together.

"It was an interesting way to record because when we got back in the studio we were even more on fire," Farrell said.

The results are apparent. Farrell's voice is filled with mystery and urgency, while Stephen Perkins' drumming is precise and turbulent, setting the mood for various rhythmic excursions. Guitarist Dave Navarro plays with galvanic and artful intensity, contrasting evocative arpeggios with crashing riffs and ripping through furious solos with deft nonchalance. In the end, the songs are fleshy and pulsing with life, but they didn't start out that way.

"For the past five years I've been involved in electronic music and production, and I thought it would be great to lend that sound to Jane's Addiction," said Farrell. "We started out with that premise, but it was like trying to hold back a rocket. It was impossible to keep the band from taking off around the electronic because the electronic is heartless and absolutely metric and we are living, breathing, gushing, pumping human beings. So we just went for it."